University in France
Reims, Grand Est, France
University profile
The Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) is a multidisciplinary public university of teaching and research, recognised nationally and internationally in the field of the bioeconomy. It serves more than 28,500 students (28,507 in 2025-2026) and is spread over Reims and four regional sites in Troyes, Charleville-Mézières, Châlons-en-Champagne and Chaumont.
Its academic identity rests on four strategic poles: Bioeconomy and Environment (EXEBIO, covering agrosciences, environment, biotechnologies and the bioeconomy and supported by the PIA EXEBIO programme), Health, Sciences and Engineering (digital science, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, materials and energy) and Humanities and Social Sciences. The territory's strong agricultural and wine-growing economy shapes much of the research and training offer.
Teaching is delivered by seven UFR (Unités de Formation et de Recherche): Lettres et Sciences Humaines; Droit et Science Politique; Sciences Exactes et Naturelles; Sciences et Techniques des Activités Physiques et Sportives; Médecine et Maïeutique; Pharmacie; and Odontologie. The Campus des Comtes de Champagne in Troyes is a further teaching component. Institutes and schools include the IUT de Reims-Châlons-Charleville, the IUT de Troyes, the Institut Georges Chappaz de la vigne et du vin en Champagne, the Inspé (teacher training), the IAE Reims-Troyes, the engineering school ESIReims and the École d'ingénieurs en Sciences Industrielles et Numérique (EiSINe). Attached institutes include the IPAG, the Institut d'Études Judiciaires, IFAC, IMCA and IRDA.
The university has about 2,500 staff, including 1,460 teachers and teacher-researchers and 1,040 administrative and technical staff. Four doctoral schools (ABIES, BCS, MPSNI and SHS) host 472 doctoral students, 199 of them international.
International students are welcomed through a Guichet Unique (one-stop desk) in Reims, the International Centre for French Studies (CIEF), which receives more than 300 students each year for French-language and cultural preparation, and the Office of International Affairs (DREDI). The university holds 313 bilateral Erasmus+ agreements with institutions in 25 European countries and more than 250 partner universities in about 50 countries, and welcomes about 800 foreign students each year. Student housing is provided mainly through the CROUS, with additional options through the MGEL residences and the Lokaviz platform.
From the 2026-2027 academic year the university applies differentiated registration fees to non-EU (extra-community) students: EUR 2,902 for a year in BUT or Licence and EUR 3,950 for a year in Master or an engineering degree. EU, EEA, Swiss, Monaco, Andorra and Québec nationals, doctoral students and those preparing the HDR, refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, long-term residents in France, those fiscally domiciled in France for more than two years and CPGE students pay only the national fees. Students enrolled at URCA in 2025-2026 are exempt from the differentiated fees until the end of their current cycle; a change of cycle (for example L3 to M1) triggers them. Fees are paid online by bank card, in full or in three monthly instalments.
International students subject to the differentiated fees may ask the university president for a partial individual exemption (so that only the national fees are paid), on grounds of personal situation and resources, under decree no. 26-385 of 19 May 2026. The request is made through a dedicated form, at the latest two weeks after administrative registration. On accepted requests, a letter is issued and only national fees are charged; if refused, the differentiated fees must be paid to complete registration.
A student may obtain an exemption from tuition fees (not specific fees) for one diploma only. The president decides on the proposal of an ad-hoc commission. The form is submitted at www.univ-reims.fr/procedures-scolarite, with a social-worker opinion; deadlines are 18 October (first commission) and 14 February (second commission).
Separate from tuition fees, the CVEC is EUR 105 for 2026-2027 and must be paid to CROUS before registration. Exempt are students on social-criteria grants, refugees, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and asylum seekers. Exchange students under an inter-institutional agreement and continuing-education trainees funded by an employer are not concerned.
Social-criteria grants of the Ministry of Higher Education are awarded to students under 28 according to family situation and are paid from September to June; eligibility and amounts can be checked with the CROUS de Champagne-Ardenne simulator at www.crous-reims.fr. The university's international pages name the Eiffel Excellence scholarships (Eiffel candidates supported by the university receive an admission letter from the Direction des relations extérieures et du développement international), Fulbright grants, the Chateaubriand fellowship and the Campus France list of grants. Doctoral funding routes include the contrat doctoral (public or private law), Cifre, Cofra, French and foreign government grants, the France Excellence Eiffel programme, the European joint doctorate and the European Industrial Doctorate. Details at the university's registration-fees pages.
Bourse France Excellence Eiffel (candidatures présentées par l'URCA, session 2027) →
Browse the scholarships listed for Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne →Applicants who are not French or EU nationals and do not hold a French or European diploma follow a procedure that depends on their country of residence. Residents of the countries covered by the Études en France procedure (a list that includes Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, the United States, India and China, among others) must apply through the Études en France platform whatever year of study they seek. Applications for first-year programmes are open from 1 October 2026 to 15 December 2026; for years other than the first, applications open from 1 October 2026 each year. Applicants should check their Campus France office for its own deadline. Only a limited number of programmes are open to international applicants through this route.
Residents of other countries (or those already in France) apply to Licence 1 through the demande d'admission préalable (DAP): a 'dossier blanc' is lodged with the Campus France office of the country of residence, or a 'dossier vert' is sent to the university if the applicant lives in France, with a deadline of 15 December 2026. Entry to BUT 1, DEUST, three-year Licences professionnelles and engineering programmes after the baccalauréat is through Parcoursup. Entry to BUT 2 or 3 is not offered to international applicants. Entry to Licence 2 or 3 is by equivalence of the diploma or studies completed abroad. A Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF or equivalent) at level B2 is recommended for all programmes, with exemptions possible under certain conditions.
First-year applicants (lycéens and those changing course) apply through Parcoursup. For 2026 the registration and wish-formulation phase ran from 19 January to 12 March 2026, wishes were to be confirmed by 1 April 2026, the main admission phase began on 2 June 2026 and the complementary phase opened on 11 June 2026.
Students who have validated studies in another field or university apply for a validation of their prior higher-education studies. For 2026 the campaign ran from 27 April to 8 June 2026, with a possible complementary phase from 7 July to 19 August 2026. Licence professionnelle applications are made through the platform of the institution teaching the programme (URCA, IUT de Reims-Châlons-Charleville or IUT de Troyes).
All Master 1 programmes have a limited capacity and entry is selective, on examination of the candidate's file. No automatic admission is granted to holders of a recommended Licence. Applications are made through the national MonMaster platform (2026 campaign: 17 February to 16 March 2026; admission phase 3 to 16 June 2026). Foreign nationals residing in an Études en France country apply through that procedure instead. Master 2 admission is by application through the university's application tool.
Admission to the engineering degrees of ESIReims is by file review (2026 campaign: 9 February to 20 March 2026); international applicants from Études en France countries can apply to ESIReims programmes through that procedure. Admission to the EiSINe degrees (Charleville and Reims sites) is by file review after contact with the Pôle Formation UIMM Champagne-Ardenne (2026 campaign: 12 January to 28 February 2026).
Doctoral registration is open from July to early December and from January to the end of May. Applicants first meet a prospective thesis supervisor and contact the director of the relevant doctoral school (ABIES, BCS, MPSNI or SHS), then gather the last diploma transcript (master or engineering degree), CV, motivation letter, recommendation letter if relevant, internship report if requested and proof of funding (grant, salary, etc.). Registration has two steps: pedagogical registration through the ADUM platform, then administrative registration with the doctoral school. The CVEC must be paid before registering. Employment contracts can be signed only after the first registration is validated.
After admission, students go to the Guichet Unique (Espace Reims Campus, 31 rue du Général Sarrail, Reims), which in 2026 is open from 24 August to 25 September (Monday to Friday, 9:00-11:30 and 13:00-16:30). Students arriving between 26 September and 15 October 2026 need a late-enrolment authorisation. The CVEC attestation from CROUS is required first, then the registration authorisation: feuillet D for DAP applicants, the accord préalable d'inscription for Études en France applicants, or the admission letter for other routes.
The university teaches on five sites:
The built estate covers 264,675 m². The university runs a library network (Bibliothèque universitaire), a Maison des Langues with a language resource centre, and shared research platforms.
Study programmes offered at Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne.
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